Challenge: One child dies every 20 seconds from a vaccine-preventable disease; and nearly 20 percent of children worldwide do not have access to any childhood vaccines. The United Nations Foundation (UNF) wanted to build awareness, mobilize support and raise funding in the United States to support the vaccination of children around the world.

Approach: APCO developed a highly strategic campaign based on our deep understanding of what moves and engages the UNF’s key audiences – U.S. parents and particularly, moms. The campaign brand, Shot@Life, touches on the universal expectations all parents have for their children, and forges a personal, emotional connection that unites stakeholders around this important issue. The campaign included a website; digital advertising; social media; a mobile app that enables parents to track their own children’s vaccine milestones, make donations and get updates from the campaign; and a highly impactful media launch that drove national awareness.

Results: Shot@Life quickly gained broad support, and its national launch garnered 80 media mentions and more than 2 million media impressions. The award-winning Shot@Life campaign partnered with Walgreens to launch the “Get a Shot. Give a Shot.™” campaign. For every immunization Walgreens pharmacies administered over a six-week period, the cost of one measles or polio vaccine was donated to Shot@Life. To date, the partnership has helped to provide 3 million polio and measles vaccines to children in emerging markets around the world.

Endorsed by former first lady and Every Child By Two co-founder Rosalynn Carter, director of the National Center for Immunization and Respiratory Diseases Dr. Anne Schuchat, and world-renowned photographer Anne Geddes